$13,000 a day tattoo artist charged with felony DWI after injuring Jasper woman in head-on crash

A Purcell man was charged with felony driving while intoxicated- physical injury after a head-on collision 9:13 p.m. Monday in which a 39-year-old Jasper woman was injured.

A $20,000 bond cash or surety was set for Nathanal Dwayne James Jenks, 24, who was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident, a felony, and three misdemeanors- careless and imprudent driving, no seat belt and no valid license.

According to the Highway Patrol report, Jenks, driving a 2018 Subaru Outback, turned into the path of a 2020 Kia Sorrento driven by the Jasper woman.

The allegations against Jenks are detailed in the probable cause statement filed today in Jasper County Circuit Court:

1. On June 22, 2026, at approximately 2216 hours, I was called to a two vehicle injury crash on Grand Street and 1st Street, In Purcell Missouri. As I was arriving Troop D dispatch advised me that several witnesses of the aftermath of the crash stated that the driver and the passenger of one of the involved vehicles began walking away from the crash. I began searching the area for the suspects but was unable to locate anyone from my patrol car. I responded to the scene and I began investigating the crash.

While investigating the crash, I observed the suspect vehicle from which the driver fled from to be a 2015 Subaru Outback, bearing Missouri Registration EL4E4B. I spoke with the victim who was still on scene. Victim 1 stated she saw the suspect vehicle pass her at high rate of speed traveling northbound. Victim 1 stated, the Subaru turn around ahead of her somewhere and failed to yield by pulling out in front of her and then turning into the oncoming lane and crashing head on into her. 

Victim 1 was transported to Freeman West Hospital for her injuries. After working the crash scene, I began speaking with the bystanders who saw the suspects leave the scene to attempt to locate them.

After speaking with the bystanders and getting a suspect description, several Jasper County Deputies and Missouri State Troopers and I began searching the area for the suspects who fled the scene of this serious injury crash. 

While on scene of the crash, the owner of the vehicle who will be identified as Witness 1 arrived on scene and explained that her brother in-law was the one driving the Subaru and had called her and told her that the vehicle had been stolen and then hung up on her. Witness 1 stated that the driver of the vehicle was Nathanal D. J. Jenks, whom she let borrow her vehicle to go get cigarettes. 

The bystanders who saw the driver exit the vehicle gave a description which matched the build of Mr. Jenks DOR photo. A manhunt was launched in an attempt to find Mr. Jenks. A drone operator was called and several leads were followed. After several hours of searching for Mr. Jenks, we eventually got a call from Jasper County Dispatch that Mr. Jenks had called 911 and told them he was walking back to the crash scene to turn himself in.

After returning to the crash scene, I contacted Mr. Jenks and detained him. After patting him down for weapons, I read Mr. Jenks his Miranda rights and began having a conversation with him. I asked him what happened and he explained to me that he was the one driving his sister's car and crashed it while being drunk.

He stated he just got out of prison and did not want to go back and that is why he ran away. He stated that his mom called him and told him the police were looking for him because he injured a woman in the crash. Mr. Jenks explained that he felt bad for injuring her and decided to face the consequences. While speaking with Mr. Jenks, I noticed he was slurring his words. I could smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Mr. Jenks' breath and person. I asked Mr. Jenks how much he had
to drink and he stated he had been drunk for a day and a half because of Father's Day and he missed his kids. 

I asked him if he would do some field sobriety test and he stated, "I'm going to fail them because I'm f---ed up. " I performed the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test and observed 4 clues. I had Mr. Jenks provide a sample of his breath on the preliminary breath test instrument, which indicated he had a blood alcohol content of . 051%. 

I asked Mr. Jenks how much marijuana he had consumed and he stated that he smokes weed all day every day. Mr. Jenks stated he was messed up when he crashed and that was why he ran. I asked him "On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being buzzed and 10 being the most blasted you have ever been. What would you rate yourself right now?" Mr. Jenks stated, "5. " I asked him what he would rate him self right before the crash and he stated "4. " 

I asked Mr. Jenks if he would feel comfortable driving his children around with the way that he feels now and he stated, "No, I know I f---ed up. "

Based on the totality of the circumstances, on June 23, 2026, at approximately 0003 hours, I placed Mr. Jenks under arrest for the offense of driving while intoxicated - drugs and leaving the scene of an accident. 

At approximately 0009 hours, I advised Mr. Jenks of Missouri's Implied Consent Law and Mr. Jenks agreed to provide a sample of his blood.

I transported Mr. Jenks to Mercy Carthage Hospital and seized a sample of his blood. During our post arrest interactions, Mr. Jenks stated that he was on parole out of Oklahoma for 96 years. He stated he was probably going back to prison for the rest of his life. Mr. Jenks also disclosed that he makes 13,000 dollars a day as a well-known tattoo artist and was trying to make a decent living until tonight. Mr. Jenks stated, "I'm not even going to fight this s--t because I did it." 

Mr. Jenks stated several times how he wanted to take responsibility for his actions because the victim was a woman. He stated, "If it was a man I wouldn't give a s--t about him, but because it was a woman I felt bad because I feel differently about men than I do women."

The Jasper woman was treated for minor injuries at Freeman West Hospital, Joplin.